Ridgeway Bad King John

Bottle: Unfiltered

A Very English Black Ale

Bad King John is black, bitter, and intense. Like the ruthless man it honors. Do not come here looking for subtlety!

3.3

308 reviews

North Heath, England

Community reviews

3.5 Bottle. Backlog rating from bottle collection and historic scoring. Source not recorded. No tasting notes kept, just rating.

3.3 Aroma: malts, chocolate, roasty, slightly citrus. Small white head, dark brown color, more watery texture. Taste: malts, caramel, licorice, cocoa, roasty, slightly bitter but lasting bitterness. Good black ale.

3.5 August 2017 - 500ml bottle at home in Richmond as ’Ridgeway Bad King John’, 6.0%. BB March 2018. Almost black, forms a light brown head when forced that endures a short while. Aroma is a mix of cola, ash, liquorice and the aftermath of an attempt to clean the oven. Good potent aroma. Body is a little light and watery, smooth with soft carbonation. Taste is ashy and a little bitter up front, burnt notes in water, touch salted, charcoal. Nice flavour to it, if a little watery in places. Overall, very decent. This was a lot better than I thought it would be given that it was a cheap supermarket purchase. (7-4-6-3-15=3.5)

3.6 Black with ruby hue massive liquorice hit which i liked tasty and unusual stout.

3.2 An ESB/old ale crossed with a stout. It looked great in the tankard with lovely colour and head. There was a lot of quite surprising sweet malt that resulted in a very nice mouthfeel. The flavour was unique and difficult to pin down; a bit of a curate’s egg that left me uncertain as to whether I actually enjoyed it.

2.6 Bottle. Black in colour. Very Malty; burnt roasty malts, bitter coffee, liquorice, some chocolate. Hoppy; earthy hops. Very very bitter burnt roasty malts; burnt taste much too extreme. Subtle NO; Intense yes. Didn’t enjoy this at all. Very disappointing! (2011-09-16)

4.0 On the nose you are hit by liquorice and some hints of caramel. Mouthfeel has medium carbonation and feel. Tastes strong liquorice and some herbs (like dandelion and burdock). Bitter sweet and quite a long aftertaste.

2.6 50cp bottle. The beer has a dark brown, can see through, colour with small, ivory head. Aroma has weak intensity, with notes of dark fruits, chocolate and molasses. Very watery and mineral. Watery body with delicate carbonation. Flavour is also watered down. On the other side the beer is easy to drink and not completely distasteful. Easy pint with empty flavour. Many other real ales could fill this emptiness.

3.6 Appearance: Very dark brown, slight tan head. Aroma: Dark malt, roasted. Taste: Dark malt, roasted, sweetness. Slight coffee. Nice. Bought: Sainsbury’s, 500 ml, GBP ?.?? Info: 31/12-2016, BB: 13/6-2018

3.0 Barwa ciemna. Piana srednia drobnopechezykowa. Aromat owocowy. W smaku slodko ale z goryczka. Fajne rzeskie piwko.

3.6 Bottle Sainsbury’s. Black good tan head. Aroma is roasty dark malts choc taste same some good smokeyness tart dark fruit good bitter finish. Nice stout.

3.4 Pours dark brown. Soft carbonation. Aroma of burnt toffee and fruity yeast esters. Taste is interesting but isnt particularly refined - slightly solventy. Plenty of roast, dark toffee, dark fruity yeast esters, some licorice. Not bad though, i think its unfiltered and theres a freshness thats rare with many commercial bottled beers. If you enjoy beers like McEwan’s Champion you will enjoy this

3.5 Great dark beer, complex flavors not to much for a 6% one to enjoy slowly.

3.1 liquorice flavors, some menthol but not unpleasant. Thin beer, but a very longlasting flavor. gift from uckelman

3.4 Dark, toasted malts, dark chocolate, medium roast filter coffee. Dark, clear brown, medium, frothy, beige head. Light sweet. More toasted malts, molasses, burnt caramel, chocolate and coffee, soft carbonation, medium body, light bitter and just a little bit sour finish. Decent enough, maybe a touch on the light side and lacking some complexity. Bottle from Sainsburys, Victoria.

3.1 0,5l bottle bought at a supermarket in Nitra. almost black color, small tan head. smells of licorice, cola, spices, light glueish notes, very light caramel. overall decent smell. full body, soft carbonation, slick mouthfeel. tastes of licorice, bit roasty, spices, light bready notes, light glue notes, parfumy. finishes lightly to medium roasty with notes of licorice and some bread. overall decent, but a bit simple, also rather bready for a stout.

3.0 A gift from Oliver. Dark red, clear, with almost no foam. Mild aroma with a hint of caramel and alcohol. Sweet, malt, with mild burned sugar tones in the aftertaste. High in carbon and a bit watery.

3.5 Deep mahogany with a tight beige head, clear with a good steady bead. Light malt/spice aroma. Medium to full body, nice malty flavours with a spicy finish, citrus hoppy notes lurking in the background. Nice beer.

3.0 Dark with light beige head, strong malty flavour with a slight bitterness. nice dark ale.

3.3 Very black with a deep liquorice flavour not to harsh but strong enough to last on the pallet

3.0 Tastes very malty, over-ripe banana, raisin and liquorish with a strong bittersweet finish that lasts.

3.4 En frisk humlet smag, men overraskende lidt tynd i kroppen, hvilket gør man kan drikke noget mere, og det er vel også en kvalitet.

2.4 Dark brown and clear. Has an off-white head. Aroma is malty, faint sewer-yeasty. Flavor starts light sweet, some roasted notes.

3.7 Cola brown with pork scraching brown cream foam. Light malty chocolate, coffee, nutty, floral and bit on the weak side. Palate, mediu/light body with sharp bitterness leading to harsh aftertaste. Taste, of bitter chocolate, cough syroup, herbs like dandi lion. Overall, interesting, unusual for its type, very harsh bitter, more herbal tastes than smokey or chocolate that is usual, quite intense and strong flavours, interesting and definatly worth a try!

2.3 Appearance: dark cola with small light brown foam, aroma: malt, herby? A bit like cough syrup. Palate:medium body with intense lighter notes. Taste: Very bitter light notes, intense malt, maybe smokey? Cough syrup aftertaste. Overall: too strong, cannot finish but definitely something to blow out the cobwebs!

3.2 Bottle from Sainsbury’s. Dark brown, not a lot of head. Dark chocolate and burnt toast in the aroma, with some liquorice and a trace of stone fruit. Taste is bitter and quite harsh with a charcoal-like taste. Dry finish. Not bad but not subtle enough for me.

3.4 500ml bottle thanks to Ashton McCobb. Pours clear dark mahogany brown with a thin off-white head. Aromas of treacle, light spice. Taste is light sweet, faint spice. Iron and minerals. Burnt toast. Light sweet, but clean finish.

3.4 Bottle. Appearance - deep brown to black with a decent head. Nose - molasses and toffee. Taste - honey and molasses. Burnt toast. Palate - close to medium bodied with a creamy yet tangy texture and a long dry tangy finish. Overall - interesting beer.

2.3 Ciemne wrecz czarne z biala lekko palona piana ktora szybko zanika. Lekko wodniste.malo tu zapachow i smakow.w smaku chlebowe slodko gorzkie. ...nijakie niestety. O zapachu nie wspomne bo nie ma. Zapowiadalo sie ok a wyszlo...nijak.

3.3 Stout je kategória pív ktoré sú pre mňa ako stvorené, Bad King John je pekný príklad ako má stout vyzerať najchutnejší je po tom, ako ho už prehltnete, výrazná chuť alkoholu nadpriemerná horkosť